Pocono Raceway wasn’t overly kind to the NASCAR Ford truck teams this past weekend, as the dominant Ford F-150 race truck was swept into a wreck and finished near the bottom of the lineup, while the best-finishing Blue Oval racer just didn’t have what was needed to keep up with the Chevy and Toyota competitors near the front of the field on July 22nd, 2023.
Zane Smith, reigning Truck Series champion and driver of the No. 38 NASCAR Ford F-150, led 19 laps during the race and won Stage 1 and Stage 2. However, while he earned valuable points to narrow the gap on the championship leader, pit strategy mired him deep in the pack during the final stage of the race. Smith’s No. 38 F-150 was then swept up into a 10-truck wreck late in the race, severely damaging the race truck and forcing Smith to retire.
Smith’s No. 38 NASCAR Ford truck team now sits 42 points behind points leader Corey Heim, driver of the No. 11 Toyota TRD Tundra.
Meanwhile, the best finish posted by a Blue Oval racer was earned by Ty Majeski, who piloted the No. 98 F-150 to a sixth-place finish. The No. 99 F-150 of Ben Rhodes finished ninth, the only other Ford team to finish inside the top 10. The No. 51 Chevy Silverado RST of Kyle Busch was the winner, followed closely by the No. 11 Tundra of Heim.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 51 | Kyle Busch(i) | Zariz Transport Chevrolet | 60 | 7 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 2 | 9 | 11 | Corey Heim | Safelite Toyota | 60 | 27 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 3 | 11 | 17 | Taylor Gray # | JBL Toyota | 60 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 4 | 14 | 61 | Christopher Bell(i) | Gunma Toyopet Toyota | 60 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 5 | 3 | 23 | Grant Enfinger | Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet | 60 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 6 | 34 | 98 | Ty Majeski | Farm Paint/Curb Records Ford | 60 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 7 | 35 | 19 | Christian Eckes | NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet | 60 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 8 | 33 | 5 | Dean Thompson | Thompson Pipe Group Toyota | 60 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 9 | 22 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | Kubota Ford | 60 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 10 | 8 | 25 | Matt DiBenedetto | Rackley Roofing Chevrolet | 60 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 11 | 4 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 60 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 12 | 18 | 16 | Tyler Ankrum | LiUNA! Toyota | 60 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 13 | 21 | 13 | Hailie Deegan | Ford Performance/KittyKatCoin Ford | 60 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 14 | 25 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Ideal Door/Menards Ford | 60 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 15 | 26 | 9 | Colby Howard | Grant County Mulch Chevrolet | 60 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 16 | 7 | 24 | Rajah Caruth # | Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet | 60 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 17 | 20 | 43 | Daniel Dye # | Champion Container Chevrolet | 60 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 18 | 10 | 4 | Chase Purdy | Bama Buggies Chevrolet | 60 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 19 | 1 | 2 | Nick Sanchez # | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 60 | 7 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 20 | 17 | 44 | Kaden Honeycutt | Niece Chevrolet | 60 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 21 | 36 | 56 | Tyler Hill | Hill Motorsports Toyota | 60 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 22 | 24 | 75 | Parker Kligerman(i) | Tide Chevrolet | 60 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 23 | 31 | 4 | Cory Roper | CarQuest Ford | 60 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 24 | 32 | 22 | Stephen Mallozzi | GreatPoconoHomes.com Ford | 60 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 25 | 30 | 12 | Spencer Boyd | Richmar Florist Chevrolet | 60 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 26 | 29 | 33 | Josh Reaume | JAG Metals LLC Ford | 60 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
| 27 | 27 | 45 | Lawless Alan | AUTOParkit Chevrolet | 60 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 28 | 19 | 2 | Stefan Parsons(i) | CRC Brakleen Chevrolet | 60 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 29 | 28 | 32 | Bret Holmes # | Bret Holmes Racing Chevrolet | 60 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 30 | 23 | 41 | Ross Chastain(i) | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 52 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 31 | 15 | 1 | Kaz Grala(i) | Serial 1 Premium E-Bikes Toyota | 51 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 32 | 16 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar International Toyota | 51 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
| 33 | 5 | 7 | Austin Hill(i) | ARCO Design/Build Chevrolet | 51 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 34 | 6 | 38 | Zane Smith | Birch Gold Group Ford | 51 | 19 | Ford F-150 |
| 35 | 2 | 35 | Jake Garcia # | Adapitive One Calipers Chevrolet | 45 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
| 36 | 13 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Mobil 1 Toyota | 3 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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Comments
The speed issue must be with aero ’cause they all have cheby engines anyway.
may help if they had ford power